Bogotá
Usaquén, Bogotá: neighborhood guide
Yes, if you want a calm, safe, upscale base north of the centre with good food and malls — and you accept 30–60 min by car to La Candelaria and Monserrate. Stay here for a relaxed first or last night; choose Chapinero or La Candelaria if you want museums and nightlife on foot.
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GuideBogotá
Key facts
- Best for
- Couples, families, business travellers, longer stays, anyone who values quiet streets and restaurants over nightlife
- Not for
- Travellers who want museums, hostels and bars within walking distance
- Distance to La Candelariacheck
- About 12–14 km south; 30–60 min by car depending on traffic
- Flea marketcheck
- Mercado de las Pulgas de Usaquén, Sundays around the main square (check hours)
- Altitude
- About 2,600 m, same as the rest of Bogotá
- Getting incheck
- TransMilenio to Portal del Norte or Calle 116, then walk or short taxi; Uber and taxis from the centre
- Safetycheck
- One of the calmer districts; normal big-city care after dark
What Usaquén is like
Usaquén is the northernmost of Bogotá's districts and one of the largest, with close to a million residents. Most of it is residential and commercial: high-rise apartment blocks, office towers, country clubs and some of the city's biggest shopping malls along Autopista Norte and Carrera 15.
The part visitors care about is the old village core around Calle 119 and Carrera 5–6, a few blocks of low colonial-style houses, a small square, cafés and restaurants. It was a separate town before Bogotá grew around it, and it still feels like a plaza with a city attached. North of it, the streets turn into the modern district: Unicentro, Hacienda Santa Bárbara, Centro Comercial Santa Fé and the W Hotel.
It is quiet by Bogotá standards, green in places, and well served by restaurants. It is not a sightseeing district: there is no museum or monument here that justifies the trip on its own.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Calm, walkable colonial core with a real plaza | Far from La Candelaria, Museo del Oro and Monserrate |
| Strong restaurant and café scene, including Peruvian and Colombian | Nightlife is limited compared with Zona Rosa or Chapinero |
| Good mid-range and upscale hotels, safer feel at night | Few budget hostels |
| Malls, supermarkets and pharmacies within walking distance | You will use taxis or TransMilenio for most sights |
| Easy exit north to Villa de Leyva and the savanna towns | Traffic on Autopista Norte can be heavy at peak hours |
Should you stay in Usaquén?
Stay if you want a low-stress base: a hotel on a quiet street, dinner a short walk away, and a supermarket and pharmacy nearby. It suits couples, families, business travellers and anyone staying several nights who prefers calm to crowds. The Sunday flea market and the colonial square give it more character than a pure business district.
Skip it if your Bogotá list is museums, La Candelaria, Monserrate and nightlife. You would spend 30–60 minutes each way in traffic, and evenings would mean a taxi back north. For that trip, La Candelaria or Chapinero-Zona G puts you closer to what you came for.
A practical compromise: two nights in La Candelaria or Chapinero for the sights, then one or two nights in Usaquén before flying out or heading north to Villa de Leyva.
- Stay: quiet, safe-feeling, good food, easy north-side logistics
- Skip: you want museums, hostels and bars on foot
- Compromise: split your Bogotá nights between the centre and the north
Eating and drinking in Usaquén
The square and the blocks around Calle 119B are the eating zone. Expect Colombian staples — ajiaco, bandeja paisa, grilled meats — plus Peruvian, Italian, Japanese and steakhouse options, and a dense café scene. Hacienda Santa Bárbara is known for its cafés as much as its shops.
Prices run mid-range to upscale by Colombian standards; a main course in the square is typically more than in La Candelaria. On Sundays the flea market brings street stalls and more casual food around the plaza. Book ahead on Friday and Saturday evenings for the better restaurants.
For a specific sit-down option, 14inkas is a Peruvian-style bistro a block north-east of the park, open Wednesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday lunch, closed Monday and Tuesday (check current hours).
| Area | What you find | Best time |
|---|---|---|
| Plaza de Usaquén and Calle 119B | Colombian and international restaurants, cafés, bars | Lunch and dinner |
| Hacienda Santa Bárbara | Cafés and food in a converted 19th-century house | Afternoon |
| Sunday flea market | Street food and snacks around the square | Sunday daytime |
| Unicentro and Santa Fé malls | Food courts, chains, cinema | Any day |
Getting there and around
Usaquén sits in the north-east of Bogotá, roughly between Calles 105 and 120 and Carreras 5 and 15. From El Dorado airport, a taxi or ride-hailing car takes about 40–60 minutes depending on traffic; there is no direct rail link.
TransMilenio serves the corridor: Portal del Norte and Calle 116 stations are the useful stops, with feeder buses into the neighbourhood. The system is cheap but crowded at peak hours, and you need a rechargeable card. Taxis and apps are the practical choice for evenings and for trips to the centre.
Walking is fine within the colonial core and around the malls, but the distances between them are longer than they look on a map. For La Candelaria, Monserrate or Zona Rosa, plan on a car; for Villa de Leyva and towns north of the city, Usaquén is a convenient departure point.
| Destination | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| La Candelaria | Taxi or app | 30–60 min |
| Zona Rosa / Chapinero | Taxi or app | 20–40 min |
| El Dorado airport | Taxi or app | 40–60 min |
| Portal del Norte | Walk or short taxi, then TransMilenio | 10–20 min |
| Villa de Leyva | Road north from the city | 3–4 h |
Questions people ask
Is Usaquén a good area to stay in?
Yes for a calm, safe-feeling base with good restaurants and hotels, especially for couples, families and longer stays. It is less good if you want museums, hostels and nightlife on foot — the centre is 30–60 minutes away by car.
What is there to do in Usaquén?
Walk the colonial square and Calle 119B for cafés and restaurants, shop at Hacienda Santa Bárbara and Unicentro, and visit the Sunday flea market. It is a base for eating and relaxing rather than a sightseeing district.
How do I get to Usaquén?
By taxi or app from the centre (30–60 min) or from El Dorado airport (40–60 min), or by TransMilenio to Portal del Norte or Calle 116 and then a short walk or feeder bus. There is no direct rail link.
Is Usaquén safe?
It is one of the calmer, more affluent districts of Bogotá, and the colonial core is busy in the evenings. Use normal big-city care: avoid empty streets after dark, keep phones out of sight and use taxis or apps at night.
Where should I stay in Usaquén?
The area has budget hostels near the colonial core, mid-range hotels and apartments around Plaza de Navarra and Calle 105–119, and upscale options such as the W Hotel on Carrera 9. Book ahead for weekends and holidays.
Deep dive
Every source; changeable facts are marked check
Sources
- officialInstituto Distrital de Turismo de Bogotá
- officialTransMilenio
- officialHacienda Santa Bárbara
- officialUnicentro Bogotá
- secondaryWikivoyage: Bogotá/Usaquén, revision 5340247 (CC BY-SA 4.0)